Deadline Bullets

Nets GM Billy King on WFAN: "I’ve spoken to Deron. He’s excited and ecstatic. The one concern is his wife is due and having a baby, but he’s excited and ready to go. I told him what we have, $19 million in cap space this summer, we still have picks. ... I said, 'We’re going to build something special and you’re going to help lead us this way.' And he’s excited about it." (Via Sports Radio Interviews)

When Chicago fans say Derrick Rose has been carrying the team without any help, they're right that he has been fantastic, but wrong that the team's improvement comes from one guy. The team's improvement comes largely from the NBA's best defense, which works when Rose is on the floor or not. (The Bulls outscore opponents handily when Rose is on the bench.) The improvement in the Bulls is an amazing case for Tom Thibodeau as coach of the year. That's where the conversation starts, but we're blind to that 'cause we're used to thinking offense.